DieHards’ preseason Big 12 standings: Title goes through Oklahoma

Big 12 Media Day takes place next week, which officially marks the start of the 2017 college football season. It’s the perfect time for predictions that are sure to go wrong.

Today, we polled our writers about where we see the Big 12 standings shaking out. Surprisingly, there was not much deviation.

The state of Oklahoma will take center stage in 2017, to the surprise of very few. The Sooners’ Baker Mayfield and Cowboys’ Mason Rudolph are arguably two of the five best quarterbacks in the country. After them, our writers expect Kansas State to pace the conference.

Texas ranks No. 4 in Tom Herman’s first season. It may seem low, but keep in mind the Longhorns went 5-7 last year and lost to Kansas. Baylor and TCU are deadlocked – just like they should be.

Easily the biggest drop comes at West Virginia. The Mountaineers shot out to a double-digit win season in 2016, but they rank No. 127 nationally with just eight returning starters.

An interesting note, however – while our writers picked Oklahoma State to finish with the best record in the conference, each one also expects Oklahoma to best the Cowboys in the inaugural Big 12 title game for the conference championship.